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Bottle vs breast - how many ounces?

My son in one month old, and he's my first so everything about breast feeding is new to me. Things are going well; I have a bit of an OALD, so I've been reading more about pumping. I don't want to start yet, but I thought eventually I could pump from the side he doesn't eat from during his night feedings bc my breasts get pretty full (he sleeps 4-5 hours at night but during the day usually eats every 1.5-2.5 hours). The more I read the more I wonder if he's been eating too much. I've been to a few lactation consults where they weigh him before and after feeding, and he'll eat around 3-3.5ozs. Is that a lot for a less than one month old? The reason I wonder is bc I've seen everyone recommend bottle sizes be 2ozs for babies much older than mine.

Re: Bottle vs breast - how many ounces?

You can't over feed a breastfed baby. The very best thing you can do is let him regulate his own feedings. 3-3.5 ounces is a little high (but not excessively so) for that age, but every baby is an individual and has unique needs. Just keep feeding on demand and let him nurse for as long as he chooses and he will thrive. Breastfed babies can pack on a lot of weight early on (mine gained a pound a week for awhile) then thin out later on as they become more active.

Wait for your milk supply to regulate a little more before you worry about pumping. Pumping can aggravate OALD (speaking from experience) and lead to oversupply. Unless you are going back to work soon, you are best off letting your baby regulate your milk supply rather than the pump.

Re: Bottle vs breast - how many ounces?

Also, if you pump at night then you are sending the signal to your body that more milk is needed in addition to what your baby is taking in. Your body will respond by making even more milk, and you will feel even more full at night. The best thing to do is to wait it out and you supply will regulate. You can hand express just enough to be comfortable if the fullness becomes intolerable.

Re: Bottle vs breast - how many ounces?

If he's nursing & not yet taking a bottle, keep it that way. No such thing as overfeeding from the breast but there is from the bottle. We did the weighing thing to get caregivers to stop giving him 5 oz/bottle when he was 1-3 months old.

& yes, do not pump at night if he's not usually feeding. In the first weeks it takes a while to get your supply regulated & unless you want to aggravate the OALD, don't pump.

We were sent home with a pump to supplement ebm via syringe & given instructions to pump 5 min before & 15 min after but never given instructions on when to stop. Little guy was so gassy & miserable from all the OS & OALD for almost 2 months. Only good thing about the OALD was that the milk that sprayed his face was awesome for baby acne!

If he's eating well, happy, content, gaining weight, has a lot of wet&poo diapers, only pump very little to relieve the soreness. I think after about 12 weeks it will start to regulate itself.